"The benefits of implementing and operating a Quality Management System can be all but lost if the system is subsequently left to decline over time".

The services provided by QA International as a UKAS Accredited Certification Body, are designed to help customers maintain their systems to the latest standards and most up to date industry specifications.

An appropriately qualified, trained and experienced Assessor, is matched to each customer by QA International during contract review. Whilst an Organisation must be subject to rigorous examination as part of the assessment and surveillance process, it is the duty of the Assessor to ensure that he is also adding value to the benefit of the Customer.

What if we dont have a system yet?

It used to be the case where a Company could not engage the services of a certification body until the end of the implementation process. After many Organisations had failed Assessment (due to many reasons including poor consultancy), it became apparent that advice from the certification body at the very beginning was often crucial to the success of installing an effective quality management system.

QA International now offers a range of services designed to determine and/or facilitate the best approach to implementation of a quality management system. These include an initial enquiry visit, a system pre-assessment, on-site document review and QA International's own unique 'Staged Certification Scheme' (TM).

Transition from ISO 9001:2000 to ISO 9001:2008

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and the IAF (International Accreditation Forum) have agreed an implementation plan to ensure a smooth migration of accredited certification to ISO 9001:2008, after consultation with international groupings representing quality system or auditor certification bodies, and industry users of ISO 9001 certification services.

ISO 9001:2008 does not contain any new requirements

They have recognised that ISO 9001:2008 introduces no new requirements. ISO 9001:2008 only introduces clarifications to the existing requirements of ISO 9001:2000 based on eight years of experience of implementing the standard world wide with about one million certificates issued in 170 countries to date. It also introduces changes intended to improve consistency with ISO 14001:2004.

The agreed implementation plan in relation to accredited certification is therefore the following:

Accredited certification to the ISO 9001:2008 shall not be granted until publication of ISO 9001:2008 as an international standard

Certification of conformity to ISO 9001:2008 and/or national equivalents shall only be issued after official publication of ISO 9001:2008 (which should take place before the end of 2008) and after a routine surveillance or recertification audit against ISO 9001:2008.

Validity of certifications to ISO 9001:2008

One year after publication of ISO 9001:2008 all accredited certifications issued (new certifications or recertification’s) shall be to ISO 9001:2008.

Twenty four months after publication by ISO of ISO 9001:2008, any existing certification issued to ISO 9001:2000 shall not be valid.

Note: This mean the last effective issue date for an ISO 9001:2000 will be December 2009.

QA International Policy on Transition to other standards

QA International recognises that to some Organisations, ISO 9001:2000 Registration is just a starting point for a Company’s development under International Standards.

Holders of certification to ISO 9001:2000 can extend Certification to other Standards and QA International Technical Staff would be pleased to discuss this.

As part of the ongoing surveillance process, assessment personnel will raise reports against the customers current standard(s) and will also highlight any areas for development to ensure a smooth transition to additional standards. Upon confirmation that a customer has implemented the necessary systems to acheive the standard, a QA International branded certificate of registration will then be awarded.